Butterfly Effect
by Skhan
Summary: 《What that you are told to become, you become》 Tsubasa experienced constant oppression. We tell him how to walk, how to breathe, how to behave. There was no escape until she decided to break her chains on her own. There was still one person in this world who could save and love her. The only way to access information about him was to become Hunter.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys ! Just here to say that i'm french and that i've translate this with « DeepL ». If you see any mistake, please, do not hesitate and tell me~~ !_

 _Thank you if you do._

 _"What you're told to become, you become"_

There is one thing that people with freedom cannot understand, such as what oppression really is. When we are told how to walk, where and with whom on the same path, it is almost impossible for us to change even if we wish to. 

My first name is Tsubasa, Berisha is my last name. Where I come from, I was always taught that I was nothing and I always believed it was the truth. From a city wiped off the map that serves as a rubbish dump for humanity where I spent most of my childhood, to the great manor that my parents managed to get out of this continent, I have always lived in an atmosphere of oppression. I was told what to do, what to become, to whom to disobey and especially to whom to obey.

"That is why you will not leave this house, Tsubasa."

Today, I can't take it anymore. I always had a sense of the harm my family did to me, starting with both my parents but especially my older brother. Yet I kept looking down and nodding silently at everything they were just telling me, not today. Not any more.

"I will." I replied.

Daiki was my older brother. Much older than me, he had had this very important role in my life that had almost replaced that of my parents: that of my guardian. Since I was little, he taught me I wouldn't have the same childhood as the others. I should train tirelessly not to get my family name dirty.

 _The best bounty hunters in the country._

"I think about it all the time", I whispered with one hand to my face. "The way you let him go after yet another one of your fights, how happy he was to return to our hometown…"

My hand grabbed my arm with a red sweater and it tightened on itself. Daiki's gaze suddenly darkened as I deliberately fled from any eye contact with him. His strands of black hair, the ones that fell before his eyes, he cleverly chased away as his fingers passed through them.

"Feitan ?" he whispered.

He himself seemed shocked that I mentioned it. My parents hated to hear any anecdote about him and they would not hesitate to use violence to punish him and me if we broke the rules.

Daiki grabbed my collar in slow motion and brought me closer to him. I was quickly lifted off the ground to confront his hateful face. His grey eyes seemed to ask me what it had taken me to remind him of the existence of this person he hated so much, as much as his desire to hit me.

"I forbade you to say his first name," he said to me in a half voice. "You know you're not allowed to talk about it here."

His arm, which was not holding me, slowly straightened up and he gained momentum to hit me. I simply looked at his gesture, waiting for the last moment to intervene.

"Who said his first name between us, Dai-chan?"

His fist stopped a few millimeters from my cheek. I saw very well that he always wanted to put one on me but he also knew that if our parents found out that he had hit me for nothing, I would not be the one who would be punished but rather the one invited to watch my own brother be abused.

I just looked at him: I didn't cry, I didn't speak and my eyes didn't reflect any emotion, not even that of my smile which was obviously false. He always hated it when I stared at him like that. Disgusted, he decided to release me a little violently.

"You two"... he breathed. "I always said you weren't related for nothing."

I put my red sweater back on before I stared into hers. For a reason I've always ignored, Daiki used to hate Feitan as much as my eyes. Yet I've always loved them. I have never seen anyone own minnows: right yellow, left red.

"I'm leaving", I repeated. "You'll take care of telling Mom and Dad that you couldn't hold me later."

And as I expected, he just watched me sit on the couch, take a bag with me (very light by the way), then step out of the manor decidedly. I even saw him get his head in his hands. That day, I broke the oppression by going away and swore to myself that I would return here, when those who claimed to be my family would all be dead.

I traveled for a while. My only idea was to find Feitan but every time I came across a good information network, I was denied access because I wasn't Hunter. So, after several months, I decided to take the exam with the firm intention of passing it.


	2. Chapter 2

_"What you're asked to do, you do"_

The elevator doors opened. In front of me were many candidates who almost all turned in unison to watch me advance inside the tunnel. The place was quite large but too unwelcoming for my taste and so, with my black bag on my back, I headed to the side to sit down. The faces turned away from me as I pulled out a bottle of water, trying to listen to the conversations around without much success: we could have heard the flies flying, if there wasn't this trio a little further away. So I drank my beverage after this whole walk here.

"Excuse me," a voice called to me.

I brought my attention back to a boy next to me. He had a skateboard under his arm and a bored look on his face. White streaks framed her dark blue eyes that held my attention for long seconds.

"You got anything to eat? I'm hungry," he said.

I went through my bag, just in case, biting my lower lip.

 _"It's a thirty-seven and a half"_

"If you have chocolate, that's fine with me, right?"

Hearing him, I grabbed a tablet that was lying next to my lunch and handed it to him. Stars in his eyes he grabbed them and then began to devour her, under my absent glance. Since I was a little girl, my brother taught me how to establish a degree of dangerousness. As he explained to me, I used it to evaluate at a glance the power of my opponent in order to adapt my behaviour. The closer he is to zero, the less I have to worry.

"You're a forty, you little cry baby, and that's very good for your age"

According to him, being close to fifty to fourteen years old was something more than satisfying but I had always tried to do too much.

"What's your first name?"

I turned my attention back to that boy. Seeing him close to my score had disturbed me a little, and to realize that I was examining everyone without realizing it also. He snapped his fingers before my eyes to wake me up.

"I am Kirua," he said.

"Tsubasa Berisha."

He was going to reach out his hand to me, which was already almost at my height, but he suddenly stopped. Eating his chocolate bar, he violently broke a piece of it and started staring at me with a strange look.

"Berisha," he repeated, "you just said Berisha, huh?"

I didn't really understand what he had until he put his skateboard on the edge, arms crossed on his chest. He continued to eat his chocolate, giggling nervously.

"Nice to meet you. My last name is Zoldyck. Kirua Zoldyck, if you prefer," he replied.

There was a tension between us all at once. Knowing that allowed me to understand why his degree of dangerousness was so high but I was a little surprised to see him there. As bounty hunters' daughters, we often stole prey from the Zoldycks and vice versa. A certain rivalry had settled down because of the loss of mutual money thus, I often had to deal with some members like Karuto-san or Maha-san: our altercations were rather violent.

"I don't like my family," Kirua said suddenly. That's why I decided to leave.

"You ran away too ?"

He opened his mouth to speak before laughing, with an air much more sincere than just now.

"Nice to meet you !"

He held out his hand to me, which I would shake this time. If I had had to come to the blows with him, I think I would have been disgusted of my parents for creating such hatred between our two families. Even though I didn't know Kirua, I thought he was very different from the other Zoldycks.

As I began to rummage through my bag, my gaze was suddenly drawn to the trio that set the mood from the beginning. At least, by one of them who had already been staring at me intensely for I don't know how many seconds. Kirua was doing tricks with his skateboard, so he didn't pay attention to me.

The boy was a bit dissociated from the group and his two friends didn't seem to see that he was looking at me. From what I could say about my position, it was that he was taller than me and his blue eyes literally seemed to pierce my soul for a reason I didn't know. Intrigued, I stood up a little to stare at him myself.

"Do you know him ?"

I had a little difficulty to detach myself a little from the eye that I maintained with this perfect stranger, to turn the head towards Kirua who had a hand posed on his hip, in balance on his skateboard. I didn't answer and we both stared at that blond boy who immediately turned away, talking to his friends again.

"He is strange, this one," noticed the silver-haired boy with a surprised air.

A few minutes later, the examination began with the arrival of a strange man: a moustached man with a strange pink hairdo and a suit. Even if I had more or less understood him, he presented himself as the examiner of the first test, being the one who would take us to the second. His name was Satôtsu.

I quickly lost sight of Kirua who overtook a good number of people on his skateboard. The participants pushed each other and since I wasn't in the mood to get angry, I let myself get to the point of not tripping several times. After the fifth time, I felt myself clearly out of balance, but contrary to the fall I was waiting for, a hand firmly grasped my arm in order to pull me back. Ready to thank this person, I saw the boy of earlier pass in front of me while staring at me. Our exchange lasted less long and he turned away much more quickly in order to join a tall brown with glasses to the carrying voice.

A little disappointed, I shook my head and started running again, this time a little faster than before. I caught up with their duet and gave the blond a slight blow on the shoulder for him to notice me and then slipped him a "thank you". He took a little time to answer me but I received my "you're welcome" a few seconds later. Accelerating the pace, I heard the other asking him what had happened but I was already too far away to hear his answer.

I ran for a long time without paying attention to the world around me. I really liked it when I trained with my older brother and he always said I was much more focused. Everything was in my head, like my choice to leave the family estate, the recent arguments between me and my family and all sorts of trivial things. It felt good to ruminate on different subjects alone, enough to make me feel better quickly.

"Wait."

I was drawn from my thoughts in a rather violent way. My wrist was grabbed and I suddenly cleared myself, failing to push my interlocutor. When I stood up, I could see that it was the blond of earlier which quickly made me regret my gesture.

 _"It's a twenty-one"_

I shook my head and noticed that even though he kept running beside me, he seemed very annoyed.

"I think you saw that I've been watching you for a while," he declared. "Whatever you may think, I'm only interested in your eyes, but since you seem ungrateful to people, I give up the discussion."

"If you're that sensitive, just run further."

He seemed determined to ignore me, but didn't move an inch. I got a little annoyed and accelerated my race before making a crowbar that almost made him stumble badly. He picked himself up at the last moment and gave me a black look.

"I-"

"Tsubasa/Kurapika !"

He was interrupted by two high voices behind us. We turned in unison and I could see Kirua with the boy from earlier, in the trio. He was small enough with big brown eyes full of malice dressed entirely in green, with a man wearing glasses and a suit and dragging a briefcase with him, brown.

 _"Thirty and Ten"_

"Do you already know each other ? I'm Gon and this is Leorio". he said, pointing to his friend who waved at me.

A little on edge because of my conversation with their friend, I couldn't help but give them a second paw hook. He bent in two, failing to meet the ground but did not stop. When he straightened up, I was already further away with a smirk on my face. He raised an eyebrow before my much more than childish behavior and began a discussion with Leorio not without rotting me internally.

 _"I don't like you, so you'll fail the exam"_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey hey hey guys~. Well, I didn't say it before, but this story is a special crossover with the anime "Kekkai Sensen". There is no need to have seen it to understand since everything will be explained in detail._

 _I'll add it in the recap, but don't worry, it won't change the basic story!_

 _"And if you ever feel free, it's because we'll let you believe it"_

Many kilometers have been covered since the start of the exam and many participants have gone through the sieve. They fell like flies, out of breath, unable to keep up with the rhythm imposed by Satôtsu. As for me, I stayed within the norm. I could notice that Kirua and his friend, Gon, were not giving up the case, as well as Leorio and the other blond breaks my foot to my greatest dismay.

We ended up coming out of the tunnels after a big climb with stairs that seemed endless to me. Alone during most of the race, I was joined by the duo of boys younger than me. We ran a little while without talking but the silence did not seem embarrassing, on the contrary.

"That's Tsubasa-san, right ?" Gon asked me suddenly. "Why do you want to be Hunter ?"

I opened my mouth to speak but kept quiet for a few seconds to think about it. My gaze glided towards Kirua then towards the sky hidden by the mist. And the further we went, the thicker it got. We were already beginning to have trouble getting one foot in front of the other. Bringing my attention back to the duo that was waiting for my answer, I had an embarrassed smile.

"I'm looking for someone, but the information about them was denied because I wasn't Hunter," I replied. "So here I am."

"I hope you'll find him !" he wished me. "Me, it's for my father !"

I heard Kirua ask him why, but I wasn't really focused on their conversation anymore. After several long minutes in my thoughts, a scream came out and I had to skid on the ground to stop quickly. In front of me, there were countless gigantic turtles devouring the participants. It was only then that I realized that Kirua was no longer there. Seeking the possibilities of escape, I began again to run as quickly as possible off this battlefield, until almost out of business, I heard…

"Leorio !"

I froze and looked over my shoulder to see the one whose name had just been yelled at in the mouth of one of these creatures. Gon, while trying in vain to jump to help his friend, was also caught, followed by this little blonde swelling who was struggling like a fury.

My legs moved alone and in a snap of fingers, I found myself at the feet of one of the turtles to jump to her neck. A split second later, I was on the other side and his head was torn off. Thus, Leorio was able to extricate himself from between his teeth. I didn't wait to see if he was all right and rushed under the belly of one of these things to break his shell and reach his belly. I pulled a knife out of my back pocket and opened her belly which made her scream in pain, allowing Gon to come out while her guts and blood poured out on me.

"Kurapika !"

I jump to the side to avoid being crushed by the weight of the turtle. I was covered in blood because of my heroic momentum. Determined to turn the heels in order to continue the race, I heard again Gon and Leorio shouting their blond friend's name louder this time. I couldn't help but stop myself and clench my fists. I was way too sensitive.

Turning around, my legs moved alone again. I passed the duo in order to jump forward while I firmly grasped the handle of my knife. I landed on the turtle's head with a smile on my face and stuck the blade in her eye. Kurapika fell violently to the ground, coughing as I clung to my jaw. A sharp pain ran through my whole body, especially my arm and the horror was read on my face as I understood what this creature had done while I was distracted. I closed my grip on the handle of my knife, then, with my arm valid, I planted it directly in his skull. The turtle screamed immediately which also allowed me to land on the ground, squatting on Kurapika.

The shock of his body on the ground sounded like a knell that resonated in my ears. I stretched out my hand to the left and grabbed my torn arm which had just escaped from the mouth of this creature.

" **Tsubasa-san !** " Gon shouted.

I fell to the side. Blood was flowing from my wound and the pain was unbearable. Leorio and the smaller one ran to me, horrified, while the blond one straightened up on his elbows. The misunderstanding was clearly visible on his face.

"Okay, don't panic," blew the brown one with glasses. "It's blood, it's all right, you have the same in your veins, Leorio !"

Trembling, he knelt down and opened his briefcase from which he pulled out tons of bandages. He asked Gon to help him but to my surprise Kurapika pushed him almost to the side to keep me in place.

"Bandage the wound as hard as possible", advised his friend.

He took the tapes and quickly began to surround the rest in a rather abrupt manner. I couldn't stop myself from moaning as the pain began to make me want to vomit.

"Why did you save me ?"

His voice brought me back to earth. While my sight was blurred little by little, I succeeded in stabilizing it to stare at it. His blond hair fell before his eyes, which prevented me from seeing them correctly, but his grinning mouth let me imagine the state he was in.

"If you hadn't saved me, you'd still have your arm !"

"Stop crying, I did what I wanted", I spit.

"A new groan came out of the barrier of my lips. I had little credibility, with tears threatening to run down, and tremors running through my body, the pain seemed unbearable to me."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," Leorio suddenly said to me.

Gon nodded, a sad smile on his face. I was content to sigh for a long time, smiling with an air that was intended to be taunting but attenuated by the shivers running through me because of my wound. Everything I had done today, I wouldn't even have considered it if I were still with my family. Sometimes the talent to kill comes in handy, and it's the only one I have.

"You lost your arm because of me !" he exclaimed. "To save me! I refuse to feel guilty or indebted to someone I don't like !"

He turned around and put one knee on the ground to show me his back. I remained silent for a moment as Leorio whispered something in Gon's ear that made him nod. Sighing with defeatism, I put my bag back on my shoulder without injury and climbed without making any more fuss. Kurapika stood up and then pulled me up to be more comfortable running. After a moment of hesitation, I let my valid arm hang along his neck and we could resume the race.

"Don't fall under my weight", I laugh.

"I don't comment on the weight of girls but if you're worried about that, given your height, you're very light."

My eyebrows frowned. I've always hated having people taller than me make remarks like that to me. It was decided not to answer that I buried my face between his two shoulder blades and, in spite of the sweat he secreted because of the race, I felt his smell which was not unpleasant to me at all.

"You smell like shit."

"Don't waste your breath on me, I won't answer."

I had a second laugh and gradually closed my eyes. I feel like I'm gonna enjoy my whole being when he fails the exam. I'm going to wait for him with an unrestrained impatience. 


	4. Chapter 4

_"You can never get rid of oppression"_

I was very happy to be carried by Kurapika. I could watch him run out of breath under my weight as Leorio, Gon and him ran through the mist. It had begun to decrease, a sign that we were nearing the end of our journey. And indeed, a few minutes later, we arrived in a large forest from where we could see large doors in the distance.

"You think this is it ?" Leorio asked.

"Sure !" Gon replied. "Kirua has a very special smell mixed with chocolate, so I could follow it !"

"His smell ?" repeated the incredulous blond. "Can you spot him by the smell ?"

I giggled softly, still a little weakened by the pain I was beginning to endure.

"If it had been you, he wouldn't have too many problems considering how sweaty you are."

Leorio could not help laughing but was quickly reprimanded by a glare from Kurapika. He accelerated the pace, obviously in a hurry to finally get rid of me. I knew all he had in mind was that he regretted offering to carry me.

"If you could shut up, that would help me," he breathed.

I simply shrugged my shoulders and then groaned, the pain reminding me that I always had an injury in a rather unpleasant way. I looked up and saw the famous big doors in front of us, where our examiner, Satôtsu, was waiting with a watch in his hand.

"Right on time," he said. "Join the other candidates, the second round will begin."

I came down from Kurapika's back as soon as he stopped and moved forward among the participants. Some looked at me with disgust because of my too recent injury, others with a big smile while the rest did not flinch a bit at my sight. I didn't even thank that little blonde bastard.

The second test consisted in satisfying two gourmet Hunters who presented themselves as Buhara, a fat man with a simple, brown face, standing behind a woman with blue or even green hair with five quilts on the back of her skull. She said her name was Menchi and asked us to each catch a pig of a particular species and then come back and cook it. I hadn't seen Kirua since.

Exiting the big garden where these two Hunters were, I headed into the forest with Leorio who followed me closely with, to my greatest dismay, Kurapika then Gon. They weren't really following me, we were all gone more or less at the same time. Moreover, one did not stay behind the other for a long time, since the pigs manifested themselves very quickly. I was so desperate only to have to dodge their charges because of my lost arm that even Gon laughed at my situation. Very annoyed, I took the one that had been cut off and was still dragging in my bag to throw it with all my might towards one of the pigs and pierced his skull.

"You think she was offended ?" Gon whispered to Leorio.

With a sulky pout on my face, my arm cut off under my armpit and the pig's snout in my hand to drag him to the kitchen, I passed them with my head high.

 **"** I wouldn't like to ask her," replied the brown-haired man with glasses.

I could not help but have a satisfied smile when I saw Kurapika's look which reflected his deep shock. Overtaking him, I quickly climbed back up the slope to quickly start cooking. If there was one thing I wanted to finish quickly, it was this event. So I was one of the first to arrive: there was already a man who was more like a clown than anything else and another, dressed like a ninja. This one was in the head with Menchi who sent him back quickly to look for this pig before she skinned it. I smiled discreetly as he was thrown away by Buhara and she noticed me. Instead of ignoring me, Menchi shrugged with a smile on her face.

 **"** Your arm… **"**

I turned away from young Hunter in order to fall in front of Kirua. His pupils had shrunk in shock and he was still holding his pig, shaking slightly.

"I saved Gon, Leorio and the other blond head-cutting turtle but I didn't pay enough attention, and one of them tore my arm off. **"**

Kirua opened his mouth to speak but immediately closed it, looking guilty. I patted him on the head with my good arm and smiled at him. He must have been a year or two younger than me, but I still liked him.

"I am well", I assured him. **"** Go cook, I assure you it's okay. **"**

He nodded reluctantly, turning away before seeing Gon returning with Leorio and behind, Kurapika, head down. I suddenly thought that calling him by his first name annoyed me, so I internally renamed him "Blondie".

"Why does Kurapika look angry ? **"**

"Because it was by saving him that I lost my arm," I replied, trying to tie my hair with one hand.

 **"** And that doesn't piss you off ? **"**

 **"** I haven't changed my mind about him. **"**

I turned to the counter again, and I was against myself. With only one arm, it was still complicated to tie your hair. I was surprised to feel my rubber band leave my wrist but when I recognized Kirua's T-shirt, I relaxed and let him do it. A few seconds after he tinkled with my strands, I felt all my hair raised in a high tail fall back between my two shoulder blades.

 **"** Is that okay with you ? **"**

I nodded and started cooking. He left me to go and do the same while I started slicing the pork, thinking back to the times when Daiki had tried in vain to teach me how to cook. Given the design of the event, the examiners were not only to judge our culinary abilities. A gourmet Hunter is not just someone who cooks but someone who risks their life for certain ingredients. So, I had to bet on the presentation, the good taste of the thing and I had already validated the part "risk his life" like all those in the kitchen.

 **"** Excuse me, can I have another plate ? **"** I asked.

Some turned their heads at me. Despite my missing arm returned to my bag, I was more or less able to manage and some began to panic. Menchi got up from the couch where she was, took what I had asked her in a pile next to it, then went down the stairs to come to my post. She watched for a few seconds what I was doing after I put the plate on the counter and then shifted her eyes to my arm.

"Your wound is recent," she noted. "You lost it earlier, I suppose?"

 **"** I saved candidates **"** , I replied by cutting the salad, **"** during the previous test **"**.

Menchi stared at me for a few more seconds and then shrugged her shoulders before turning her heels. I put a slice of pig on each plate and then made the salad dressing. As for the other candidates, a good part had already finished. To pass this test, we had to get the agreement of both Hunters gourmets but since the beginning, nobody had passed yet. Buhara approved a bit everyone, unlike Menchi, who had not tasted a single dish because of their deplorable presentation.

 **"** I could hardly see fools contenting themselves with serving us only things that had barely been worked. It's already better than the ones before you. **"**

I turned my eyes to our examiners: it was Blondie's turn. To tell the truth, under his air, which irritated me more than anything, it seemed obvious to me that he was not stupid at all. He must have understood the purpose of the test, like me.

 **"** That's disgusting ! **"**

Menchi had just carried a piece of the dish he had made to her mouth before spitting it out immediately. I smiled when I saw him getting soaped on the importance of taste. The presentation was not supposed to do everything, which quickly strengthened my determination to pass this test.

Throwing the cloth on the counter, I took the sauce to put last on the slice of pork, and caught a first plate that I wedged in the joint between my arm and my forearm, then recovered the second. I went up to the duet of the two gourmet Hunters, then I put down what I had prepared slowly, thus it wouldn't spill. Buhara threw himself on it and swallowed it all at once by waving a small panel with a circle on it, a sign that I was passing. As for Menchi, she took her time. She observed the dish for a few seconds before grabbing a knife, a fork and a towel. I was the second one that made her want to try it. She carried the slice of pork to her mouth and chewed for long seconds which seemed to me to be an eternity.

 **"** It's not what I usually eat in great restaurants but for a lunch during Hunter's exam, it suits me very well. **"**

She took another bite before raising her eyes to me.

 **"** We didn't ask you to be five star chefs, I take into account that many of you have never cooked in your life but you are the only one to have understood the meaning of the ordeal for now and you have done all this with one arm. That's why… **"**

She grabbed her sign that showed a blue circle. I had a big smile at the news.

 **"** Menchi, are you gonna finish ? **"** Buhara asked. **"** Let me finish if you're not hungry anymore ! **"**

As he dangerously approached her plate, she quickly pushed him away and grabbed my dish to keep it out of his reach.

 **"** Get out of the way, I'm not done ! **"** she yelled.

I turned my back before I noticed that many of eyes were on me, including Blondie. I couldn't help but smile at him with a sarcastic smile that he just ignored, arms crossed on his chest with a haughty air painted on his face.

 **"** How did you do it ? **"** Leorio shouted at me.

 **"** I used my head. **"**

He also began to grumble. My eyes glided over the two gourmet Hunters who were still fighting over the meal I had prepared. If Daiki ever saw this, he would cry with joy at all his efforts.

 _"Buhara is a fifty-eight and Menchi, a sixty-one. Gourmet or not, they're still Hunters."_

Sitting on my counter all cleaned with my bag on it, I heard the end of the trial ring. From everything I had observed, I was the only one to have succeeded and my laughter drew the glares of the participants who should soon return home. I found it rather abnormal that only one person was allowed to continue and obviously other people thought like me. As I was walking out with my bag, I felt my collar being grabbed violently. I was turned around and almost staggered because of the violence of the gesture. He was a man with a frown that I hadn't even seen in the whole exam. Or maybe his looks were way too banal for me to remember.

 **"** You cheated, admit it ! **"** he shouted. **"** There's no way with one arm missing and judges so stubborn, a kid like you could make it. **"**

 _"He doesn't even have four points"_

 **"** You tire me out," I said.

Ready to turn my heels to avoid trouble, I quickly felt myself flying. His raw strength was to be his four pathetic little dots. Instead of landing on the ground or against the wall, I was surprised to feel my fall cushioned by someone's body. On my stomach on the ground there was sudden pressure on my chest and I noticed that I was on a man dressed like a clown with captivating yellow eyes and more or less red hair. I could have apologized if he wasn't holding one of my breasts in one of his hands.

 **"** Pervert ! **"** I shouted.

I quickly pushed him back, upright, and especially happy not to have received more damage to my wound. I suddenly slapped this man who wore the number 44. My rage descended quickly enough to give way to embarrassment.

 **"** Did she just hit Hisoka ? **"** I heard behind my back.

Some murmurs began to rise. Bringing my attention to him, a shiver ran all over my body. Even though he was not in a combat position, his face was lit up with a little smile. He tapped my head two or three times before returning to the crowd as if nothing had happened.

 _"Ninety-seven. **"**_

A drop of sweat pierced my temple, but all the stress I had just accumulated came down when I heard the unpleasant voice of the disgruntled candidate at four miserable points.

 **"** Kid, I'm talking to you ! **"** he self-slaughtered. "Admit you cheated!"

I turned to him in despair. He advanced dangerously with the firm intention of fighting me in his gaze. I waited until he was close enough to me to throw me forward, balancing in a perfect straight tree on one hand. The man did not try to understand what I was going to do, determined to grab my legs. My shirt came down slightly from my hips as I swirled around and kicked him in the temple, followed by a back flexibility. The top of my foot with a leather boot hit him in the chin and the man fell to the ground, half unconscious. All the participants seemed more or less shocked at what had happened, except Kirua smiling and Menchi giggling with her arms crossed on his chest.

 **"** Don't try to play with me, if you don't know the rules," I stared at him in cold air.


	5. Chapter 5

_"Whether you believe it or not, you are always under the yoke of oppressors throughout your life"_

A few minutes after my fight, we were allowed a visit from Hunters President Netero. Actually, I thought it was strange that only one person could succeed, so as I expected, he asked Menchi to organize another one test I thought that my victory would be called into question but I was quickly reassured when Netero invited me to follow him to another airship until the test was completed. That's how I sat in front of a window, alone in a room with a cup of tea he had served me. About half an hour ago, when he left me there, he told me that the test had not yet started and that he would be back soon.

"Kid, can you come with me?"

I turned to see the president at the doorway. He didn't wait for my answer and turned around to go back into the corridors. I quickly joined him thanks to the noise of his traditional shoes. I had to ask myself a dozen times how he could walk so easily with it, but the question doesn't cross my lips.

"How did you lose your arm?"

I sighed for a long time. The question had been asked dozens of times today and every time I heard it, I felt like the pain was awakening.

"I rescued participants from head-cutting turtles and I lacked vigilance", I replied.

"Saved?" He repeated. "How strange, coming from a _Berisha_."

I couldn't help but grind my teeth at the agreement of my last name. So he knew, huh? To be honest, I would have been surprised if he hadn't, but if he reminded me like it was a disease...

"I fled, President. I'm not like them."

He just had a mischievous smile. I wasn't sure what he was up to to taking me deeper into the airship, but given his silence, he wasn't planning on telling me until we got there.

"Are you a killer, Tsubasa-chan?"

I swallow in a rather noisy way. I didn't like the word assassin because technically, that wasn't really what I was doing. At least, I didn't have the makings of a murderer.

"Bounty hunter", I replied. "Even though I stopped when I decided to leave home.

\- Did you regret your crimes?

\- Sort of."

A new silence settled between us. Nétéro stopped in front of a door that he had to unlock with a magnetic card. He moved and invited me inside. It was a room adjacent to another, separated by an armoured door and a tinted window through which I could see a man tied to a chair. He was wearing a kind of half-torn suit with rolled up sleeves that showed his tattooed arms. His grey hair on the edge of blue fell in front of her eyes, as did his face, which must have been beaten up for the blood on it. Yet when he looked up, he had absolutely nothing. Her skin looked surprisingly clear and her red eyes had something quite scary.

"He knows we're here," the president told me. "Have you ever seen his face before?"

I just slowly shook my head. Netero smiled slightly and crossed his hands behind his back.

"No wonder. If you had said yes, I would have been tempted to call you a liar.

\- Who is he?"

Once again, he kept quiet. I didn't immediately understand if he was trying to weigh the pros and cons of revealing this information or if he just wasn't going to answer me. The man across the street seemed to be waiting for something to happen and the more I looked into his eyes, the more their redness made me want to vomit. I had to step back and carry a hand to my chest, shortness of breath.

"Netero-san, who is this man?

\- Have you ever heard of the hidden continent?"

I shook my head again. The color of his eyes, I had already seen it somewhere and several hypotheses returned my brain as I thought about it.

"It may be confusing, but he has nothing to do with the Kuruta clan.

\- Ah?" I suddenly answered.

I put my left hand on my neck, a little confused.

"The hidden continent, also known as the black continent, is not shown on any map. It is not part of our world as such. Few people have been there and even fewer have returned. There, many creatures far more powerful than you could ever imagine live there. That man you see in front of you…"

He pointed to the window and I could even see a slight smile on the lips of the one in front of us. It was scary as hell.

"He's from over there.

\- Why would you show me this?

\- I guess you've also never heard of _Blood Breeds_ before?"

My answer was again negative. I was so distracted that it was really starting to annoy me.

"Everything we know about them is limited to their names. It is almost impossible to see one with the naked eye if the latter does not want to see it. But today, thanks to very competent Hunters, we were able to catch this one not without losses.

\- How many are there?

\- Thirteen in all. This man's name is Vortimer Kraig and his nickname is King of Purgatory."

He had a sudden start, forcing his chains on, which managed to make me back out of the way all of a sudden. Netero put one hand on my head and gently tapped it.

"You have nothing to worry about. His ties seal his power."

A little suspicious, I dared to step forward as he removed his fingers. I was nervous at her very sight and her piercing red eyes were not there to reassure me.

"Is there a way to defeat these people?

\- Several, but for that, you have to catch them. He will be executed tomorrow.

\- I see..."

But I could see very well Netero's insistent look at me. I knew he wanted to ask me something, but he was waiting. If it was in the presence of this man, he could die here before it happened.

"Didn't you try to question him?

\- As you can see, there's blood on his face. We tried many times but he refused to talk.

\- But there are no injuries on his…"

I stopped myself in my sentence. In the end, it seemed obvious to me now that I was looking at it from every angle.

"They can regenerate, right?

\- That's right."

I didn't understand why Netero was telling me all this. Probably for a good reason, but I didn't see any at the moment. All I had in front of me right now was this monster, him and me with a missing arm. I was petrified.

"I'd like you to come into this room and ask him a few questions."

I suddenly stretched myself out. The barrier of a wall and tinted glass gave me a certain feeling of security, but once I was facing him, I wasn't sure I could stay still.

"I tell you exactly what you need to ask him and you come out once it's over.

\- I can try."

The president grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down what was needed on it. I wait wisely, not without some apprehension to enter the interrogation room. I could almost hear my heart beating in my ears and this man's eyes were not going to turn away. Once the notes were in my hand, I opened the door with a badge given to me by Nétéro. Once inside, I slowly closed again, observed by the prisoner. I pulled the chair in front of him while I felt my hands getting sweaty little by little.

"There was a strong smell of blood, I suppose you were the cause..." he whispered.

His voice was deep and surprisingly calm. He looked at my arm caught in a bandage soaked in blood that I would soon have to change and disinfect, if I didn't want things to get worse.

"Vortimer Kraig, is that your name?"

He sighed for a long time before arching an eyebrow. I bit myself violently on the inside of my cheek to keep me calm. If I showed any sign of weakness, he could easily play me.

"Too bad you're here under someone's orders, I would have appreciated some company with brains before my execution tomorrow."

I gnashed my teeth as a heavy silence set in. At least, for my part. I quickly consulted the questions noted by the president and turned the paper upside down.

"I don't know much about your organization, tell me more."

He seemed satisfied. Standing back in his chair he gave me a rather strange look.

"If I wasn't tied to that chair, your other arm would have flown by the time you walked into that room.

\- Except you're tied to that chair.

\- Good answer, kid. For this, I can explain to you what you're getting into."

I didn't know what Netero thought of my behavior. I was afraid of what I was causing to take the lead, but doing it made me feel better in a way.

"You and I are very different," he breathed, staring at the ceiling, "Starting with our bodies, which are not made up in the same way. Just seeing you, I know you couldn't even touch me in combat."

His remark slightly irritated me and he saw it clearly on my face.

"What? You don't believe me? Then we'll check it out."

I clearly heard a noise at the door behind us. Netero had to be ready to intervene because in view of what he told me, even alone, he might not be able to contain it.

"Look at me."

I naively obeyed his request. Something different was emerging from him, but I couldn't detect what. My eyes refused to see.

"You can't see it, can you?"

The phenomenon stopped under his incessant laughter. I didn't know what he had done, or even how, since his "powers" were supposed to be sealed, but I didn't understand anything.

"Let's start from the beginning, human. What I am and what everyone else is is beyond you. As you may have understood, I can regenerate myself, but not only. I am much faster than anyone else and many powers go hand in hand with it, which I will not list before you.

\- What the hell are you, exactly?

\- They call us Blood Breeds, what do you think that means?"

I remembered a little bit everything I knew about him: increased regeneration, superhuman speed and unvoiced powers. Netero must have known, it seemed so obvious to him but not to me.

"I don't know..." I whispered.

"Are you sure about that?"

He leaned his head to the side. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable for no good reason. Words suddenly repeated themselves in me and even if I had wanted to do it from the beginning, I had not been able to assess its degree of dangerousness. He made me lose all my means and when I started regurgitating, the president entered the room in order to get me out quickly.

 _Remote blood detection, red eyes, superhuman speed, psychic powers, increased regeneration..._

Once outside, still held by Netero, I pushed him back violently with a short breath and clenched fist. There was only one sensible explanation for all this and it was freezing my blood.

"A vampire?" I shouted. "Are you telling me there are vampires on the black continent? And thirteen others like him not minimized by chains? This is completely crazy!"

He tried to calm me down, but in the end, he didn't have to. My eyesight became blurry as I said it and I lost my balance.


End file.
